31 January, 2017

In
order to receive development assistance, Tanzania has to give Western
agribusiness full freedom and give enclosed protection for patented
seeds. “Eighty percent of the seeds are being shared and sold in an
informal system between neighbors, friends and family. The new law
criminalizes the practice in Tanzania,” says Michael Farrelly of
TOAM, an organic farming movement in Tanzania.

Brutal
corporate onslaught against third world - Part 5 - More intensive
farming?

In order to
feed the world population by 2050, the World Bank and FAO (the UN
food agency) state that food production must increase by half. A
figurative war is fought regarding the approach to increase
production, but there will likely be many victims among the
small-scale farmers.

According to
the business world, Africa needs more agricultural inputs:
fertilizers, hybrid seeds, pesticides… But is the commercial
approach best suited to help the poorest segment of the population?

All the
development initiatives of the NAFSN in Tanzania focus exclusively on
the most fertile part of the country. The Southern Agricultural
Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) covers much of the southern half
of the country. Fertile soil easily attracts investors. But what
about the farmers who are located in less-than-ideal regions? Or what
about the statement by the World Bank (2008 report) that input
subsidies for fertilizer in Zambia were beneficial mainly for
relatively rich farmers rather than for the small-scale farmers whom
the subsidies were meant to benefit? Another essential fact: this
type of intensive farming is one of the biggest causes of global
warming.

Syngenta
itself has admitted that it is logical that they, as a company, have
little concern for the less successful farmers. “We are a
commercial company and therefore we invest in Africa. We believe that
Africa is done with development aid and that it is now all about
trade,” concludes Kinyua M’Mbijjewe. “The small-scale
farmers are not our target. We focus on small-scale farmers trying to
grow businesses and we are happy to work with NGOs that have a
commercial approach. Farmers who merely try to survive or operate in
an unfavorable climate are left out.”